Every day is opening night.

              Contact:
    Rick Miramontez / Jaron Caldwell / Chelsea Nachman
       rick@oandmco.com / jaron@oandmco.com / chelsea@oandmco.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

MR. MAMMA MIA!, ANDREW CHAPPELLE
CROWNED WINNER AT
THE SIXTH ANNUAL
“ B R O A D W A Y   B E A U T Y   P A G E A N T “

EVENT RAISED A RECORD-BREAKING
$75,000 FOR ALI FORNEY CENTER

New York, NY (3/21/12) – Andrew Chappelle, Mr. Mamma Mia!, was crowned as winner of the sold out, sixth annual Broadway Beauty Pageant held Monday evening at Symphony Space. The event raised an unprecedented $75,000 to benefit the Ali Forney Center, which provides shelter to homeless LGBT youth in New York City. 

The evening featured Andrew Chappelle (Mamma Mia!), Wilkie Ferguson III (Porgy and Bess), Corey Mach (Godspell), Jesse Swimm (Mary Poppins), and Anthony Wayne (Priscilla Queen of the Desert). Brent Barrett (Chicago) and past Pageant winners Frankie James Grande (Mamma Mia!), Michael Cusumano (Chicago) and Anthony Hollock (Hair) also performed.

Each of the contestants went head to head in front of a panel of celebrity judges, but ultimately, the final vote was the hands of the audience. The judges were Jackie Hoffman (The Addams Family), pop culture columnist Michael Musto, and Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change).  The evening was hosted by original four-time Tony nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning actress Tovah Feldshuh.

The Broadway Beauty Pageant was written and conceived by Jeffery Self and directed by Ryan J. Davis, with musical direction by Christopher Denny. The evening was presented by Time Warner NYC, HBO and The Corcoran Group, and produced by Ryan J. Davis, Wil Fisher, and Matthew Oberstein. The casting was by Daryl Eisenberg, the lighting design was by Brian Tovar, and the choreography was by Erin Porvaznika.

The Ali Forney Center (AFC) was started in June 2002 in response to the lack of safe shelter for LGBT youth in New York City. They have grown quickly to become the nation’s largest and most comprehensive organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth. They are committed to providing LGBT youth with safe, dignified, nurturing environments where their needs can be met and where they can begin to put their lives back together. The center provides short and long term housing in Manhattan and Brooklyn, plus free medical care, HIV testing, mental health services, showers, food, computer access and job training and placement at its drop-in centers in Chelsea and Brooklyn.

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